Great, innovative games don't just magically happen; they're almost always the result of lots of trial, error, and prototyping. If you care about exploring to come up with something different and new, if you don't want to just rehash the same old tired FPS mechanics, or if you're trying to get team buy in on the new project then you need to experiment. This session will cover why it's worth spending a significant portion of development on prototyping, 8 lessons for how to do it effectively, and 8 common pitfalls to watch out for and avoid. We'll draw from the prototyping phases of Dance Central and creative indie titles Slam Bolt Scrappers and Go Home Dinosaurs for examples.